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Biden Wishes Trump and First Lady a Swift Recovery; President Trump, First Lady Test Positive for Coronavirus. Aired 11:30-12p ET

Aired October 02, 2020 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[11:30:00]

JOHN KING, CNN INSIDE POLITICS: Welcome back. The Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, tweeting well wishes to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump this morning, saying that he and Jill Biden are praying for them, that, of course, after the first couple tested positive for the coronavirus.

Biden was tested for the virus this morning and we are awaiting word of his results. The Democratic presidential nominee, remember, was on stage with the president in that first debate Tuesday night, neither one wearing a mask. You can see the pictures there although the two gentlemen were socially distanced.

Former Vice President Biden was scheduled to be on the campaign trail in Michigan. CNN's Jessica Dean is there in Grand Rapids and joins us now.

Jessica, obviously, a lot of questions, most of them directed to the White House but we're waiting. We're waiting to see how did Joe Biden's test turn out and will he be on the trail.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, John. And we just don't know yet. As you mention, we do know that Joe and Jill Biden have both been tested this morning.

[11:35:02]

We are awaiting the results from that test.

The campaign told us months ago that they would test Joe Biden and Kamala Harris regularly and routinely and that, of course, they would go public with it if there was a positive test. But we are awaiting the results from Joe and Jill Biden's tests this morning.

As you mentioned also, I'm here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is where Joe Biden was supposed to be today to continue his economic message, reaching out to white working class voters. At this point, it's unclear if he is going to make it here to Michigan or not. Again, these all hinges on these test results coming back.

We're also learning that the Biden campaign was not alerted the by the Trump campaign or anyone from the White House or Trump world about possible exposure. They found out about it as the rest of us did, via news reporting, so a lot of things up in the air at this point.

Yesterday, the Biden campaign announced that after months of resisting in-person canvassing in battleground states because of COVID concerns, that they were re-launching -- that they were going to launch that effort, that they were going to put volunteers in the field going door-to-door, really targeting voters who hard to get to via phone or online. It's unclear if that will be impacted at all.

And then, of course, we look ahead to two weeks. There is a debate scheduled, you know, in Florida. So it's very unclear at this moment what exactly is going to happen. We just are awaiting the results, John. Ans as soon as get those, we'll, of course, let you know.

KING: We're here on a waiting game on many, many questions. Jessica Dean live for us in Grand Rapids, come back when we learn more about the test and the plans of the vice president.

When we come back, the president of the United States now in quarantine, testing positive for a virus that for months and months he has played down.

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[11:40:00]

KING: President Trump is in quarantine at the White House today displaying mild symptoms of the coronavirus, his chief of staff tells us, the same president who, of course, has spent weeks and weeks downplaying the dangers of this virus to the American public, including in Tuesday's night's debate with Joe Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I wear masks when needed. When needed. I wear masks.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS HOST: Okay. Let me ask --

TRUMP: I don't wear a mask like him. Every time you see him, he has got a mask.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Masks make a big difference. His own head of the CDC said if we just wore a mask between now, if everybody wear a mask and social distance between now and January, we'd probably save up to 100,000 lives. It matters, it matters.

TRUMP: And they have also said the opposite. They've also said opposite.

BIDEN: And no serious person said the opposite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Joining us to discuss, Margaret Talev, the Politics and White House Editor for Axios.

Margaret, let's start by looking forward. We don't know the full picture of this diagnosis. The president now positive with COVID-19 is going to impact not only the wheels of government but the campaign schedule. And we know on the books there was supposed to be a Trump rally Florida, cancelled, supposed to be two Trump rallies in Wisconsin over the weekend, cancelled. He's still on the books, I think, for events in Arizona next week, most likely to be canceled. They're just waiting to do that because he is in quarantine. Obviously, there is suppose to be a debate in two weeks.

We don't know exactly but we do know this is a major disruption not only in American life but in America's campaign.

MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, John, that's absolutely right. And I think what we're going to be watching for in the coming days, we're seeing some signs of it already, the White House very actively and preemptively having officials tweet every person with a negative diagnose. Mike Pence has tested negative. Steve Mnuchin was negative today.

So there is clearly a desire and willingness to go forward with those rallies at least with Pence or with surrogates if they can pull it off. But I think these are big questions. You remember what happened in Tulsa when the crowd fell far short of what the expectations had been. I think, for President Trump, politically speaking, the only thing worse not being able to do a rally would be scheduling a rally and nobody wants to come.

And I think the president himself getting the virus may change some people's thinking on that. And then there is the entire of question governance, what is going to happen now, very tight deadline for a Supreme Court nomination. Republicans in the Senate telling us today they intend to go forward with Amy Coney Barrett's hearings as scheduled. But are the Democrats going to get along with that and will this enable them to slow that down.

There are a lot of questions right now about both from a governance and from a campaign perspective how the next month proceeds.

KING: And we know the president, for months, has criticized restrictions put in place by governors that have kept the economy to shut down or partially shut down. And for months, and we can listen here, he has just made light or mocked those who say he should wear a mask more often.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think wearing a mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, I don't know. Somehow, I don't see it for myself.

I don't agree with the statement that if every wear a mask, everything disappears.

There is -- by the way, a lot of people don't want to wear masks. [11:45:00]

There a lot of people who think that masks are not good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: The biggest lesson in our business, Margaret, has to be just to have the courage to say the words, we don't know, because we don't know a lot. And this president is constantly surprised in his campaigns and as president. But on this day, the incoming from a lot of Republicans is that they view this -- the timing of this is disastrous, a time when the president is trying to push the pandemic to the sidelines, trying to make the election about Joe Biden, at least equally to how much it is about the incumbent. To have the president of the United States testing positive for COVID-19 at this moment on the calendar is just horrible timing.

TALEV: It's 100 percent horrible timing because the very question that the president wanted to get away from talking about was the coronavirus. This is now the theme for the rest of campaign, period, paragraph.

And it reminds me of 2008 when John McCain, mid-crumbling U.S. economy, decided to step off the trial and come back, take some time off to be a senator, it was a politically-loaded decision that ended up being the turning point in that campaign.

And I think the circumstances are certainly different here and there is a public health impact that you can't ignore, but it's a very similar trajectory. The president is no longer in expansion mode. He's just trying to hold an electoral breakeven and many on his staff are concerned about his ability to do so.

KING: Margaret Talev of Axios, grateful for the reporting and the insights. We'll talk to you again soon.

And when we come back, the president is now a patient. We'll talk to a doctor on the front lines who knows what it's like to treat COVID-19 patients.

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[11:50:00]

KING: A new coronavirus breaking news wrinkle today on this big dramatic news day. The Utah Republican senator, Mike Lee, now confirming he too has tested positive for coronavirus. The senator says he will isolate himself now while getting treatment. Mike Lee, Republican senator from Utah announcing he has tested positive for coronavirus.

More now on the breaking news at the White House. President Trump last night announcing he had tested positive for coronavirus, so too the first lady, Melania Trump. Both are positive. And the White House chief of staff says the president has mild symptoms, Mrs. Trump tweeting today, she too has mild symptoms. Dr. Craig Spencer joins us now. He is the Director of Global Health and Emergency Medicine at New York Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center. Doctor, grateful for your time today.

So the president of the United States is 74 years old, which puts him in a high risk group for COVID-19. He is obese, which triples the risk of hospitalization. And we know from his physicals he does have moderate heart disease.

We also know that he's an incredibly vigorous person who has been out on the campaign trail and showing lots of energy. If you were his doctor at this moment, what is one, two and three when it comes to treating this?

DR. CRAIG SPENCER, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL HEALTH IN EMERGENCY MEDICINE, NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: Those are really important points. It's also worth mentioning that in addition to being older, he is also a man which has been associated with a higher risk of severe illness and bad outcomes with this.

Look, I don't know all the details on the president's case and I think a lot of what we're hearing right now is -- it's, quite frankly, speculation. What I do know is that I have seen a lot of people in their 60s and their 70s who have been very ill from this and have died from this. If this were my patient, and I would treat him no different than any other 74-year-old that came into my emergency room, we would have a discussion about the next logical steps. We would think about what other treatments are possible and what are available.

We know that right now there is no magic bullet for COVID. We know that steroids are helpful for some patients depending on the severity of their illness. We know that other things, like remdesivir, may be helpful in certain patients. We don't have a lot of data on things like monoclonal antibodies, but it would have to be a discussion between myself and the patient looking at the severity of their symptoms and the likelihood of a severe outcome. That would really drive the treatment approach.

KING: Also we have heard and we're waiting, and we hope there is more transparency from the White House medical unit. We'll give them some grace. This happened overnight. But, hopefully, later today, we get more.

We hear from aides. So the chief of staff says on the record he has mild symptoms. We hear from aides that he hoarse and that he was sluggish, a little tired, lethargic. Anything tell you anything there or is that simply not enough information?

SPENCER: Look, as someone who was the subject of intense media frenzy after I had a bullet in 2014 and many of my symptoms were misreported, and, ultimately, I think what was reported was incorrect, I think it's really important that we take all of this as speculative right now. We don't know what any of this means.

We need to wish the president and the first lady well. We hope that they have access to the type of medical care that every American should have. I am glad that they have access to the treatment and the testing that, quite frankly, we all need and we've all needed since March.

Hopefully, this enlightens the president, as well as the rest of this administration about how important it is to take this seriously and the public health measures that we all need and we all deserve as Americans to make sure that we can all stay safe throughout this pandemic.

KING: Dr. Spencer, grateful for your insights today and expertise. We'll keep in touch. An important day, again, a quick break for us.

When we come back, more on the president's positive coronavirus test. We're also waiting the Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, awaiting his test results.

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[11:55:00]

KING: Hello to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John King in Washington. Thank you so much for sharing a very, very busy and important news day with us.

Giant global disruption this hour, the president of the United States is in quarantine infected with the coronavirus. The president has mild symptoms, that according to the White House chief of staff. The first lady also tweeting a bit earlier today she is also experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms.

The questions today are many, about the operations of the United States government and about the impact on a presidential campaign one month from the finish line. Several officials who came in close contact with the president are working from home today. And there is now a massive contact tracing operation under way inside the west wing and across the highest levels of the United States government.

The vice president reporting a negative test this morning. The president's daughter and son-in-law, both senior advisers at the White House, say, they both are negative, at least this morning.

Trump counselor, Hope Hicks, is a positive and the White House confirms today that the west wing knew of her positive results before the president traveled to New Jersey yesterday.

[12:00:04]

Republican Senator Mike Lee, who tested negative at the White House earlier this week, today, reports a positive test.